Nylon-66

Manufacturing process
PROCESS TECHNOLOGY

SUBMITED TO:
MRS. BHAKTI BAPAT
INTRODUCTION
•Nylon is defined as a generic term for any long chain synthetic polymeric amide which has recurring amide
groups as an integral part of the main polymer chain
•Nylon-66 is a polyamide made from adipic acid and hexamethylenediamine by poly-condensation.

•The resulting polymer is extruded into a wide range of fiber types.

• The fibers are drawn, or stretched, in a process that increases their length.
• It reorients the material’s molecules parallel to one another to produce a strong, elastic filament.
• The thermo-plasticity of nylon permits permanent crimping or texturing of the fibers and provides bulk and
stretch properties.
History
•The development of nylon was started from 1927 by means of many researchers, notably among them
W.H.Carothers and P.Schlack.

The research activities preceding the manufacture of nylon yarn can be divided into the following categories:
• Fundamental research activities which provided the foundation for the development.
• Different types of polyamides, their synthesis, manufacture and their suitability for use as a new fibre.
• Commercial production of the fibres.
• Development of the properties and serviceability of the fibres.
Advantages
• Used as a replacement of other
fibers in:
Parachutes and fishing line
Used as aircraft tire reinforcement
• Typical advantages of Nylon 6,6
are:
Higher tensile strength in use.
Excellent abrasion resistance.
Higher melting point.
•Provides High Tensile for:
Tough fibers at fine deniers
Excellent performance for type applications
High-speed mill processing.
• A high melting point also results in a fiber
with:
High stretch and recovery in false-twist textured
Yarns.
Thermal stability in high-temperature coating
operations.
 Industrial process for the production of
NYLON 66 through the step-growth
reaction.

BASED ON THE NYLON-66 PLANT IN CALVERT CITY, KENTUCKY, USA

Raw materials
The main two raw materials for the production of nylon-66 are:
I. Adipic acid (C6H10O4 )
II. Hexamethylenediamine (C6H16N2 )
III. Acetic acid (C2H4O2 )
IV. Water (H2O)

The process can be run based on the water produced during the
polymerization reaction.
During the polymerization reaction of the process, 0.5% acetic acid
solution will be used to stabilize the reaction in order to prevent a
reverse reaction from taking place
Chemical reaction

n HOOC-(CH2)4-COOH + n H2N-(CH2)6-NH2

[-OC-(CH2)4-CO-NH-(CH2)6-NH-]n + (2n-1)H2O

This reaction is the condensation polymerization of one molar of ADA (adipic acid) and one molar
of HMDA (hexamethylenediamine). Here water molecule is removed from HMDA, so as amide
formation takes place between the two reactants.
Properties

•Molecular weight of repeating unit: 226.32g/mol.

•Melting temperature : 255⁰C
•Its chemical stability enables it not to be affected by solvents such as water,
alcohol and even alkali.
•Glass transition temperature : 50⁰C
•Amorphous density at 25⁰C : 1.07g/cm3
•Crystalline density at 25⁰C : 1.24g/cm3
Requirement

• Yearly production : 85 million lb

• Per hour production : 10997 lb/hr

• Liquid HMDA : 5697 kg/hr (at 325K ; 1atm)

• Adipic acid : 7165 lb/hr (at 373K ; 1atm)
• Electricity : 141.264 Kwh
(per day)
• Water (out) : 1715.144 lb/hr
Process description
Process description for the continuous production of nylon-66 is as follows:

A continuous, two stage, four reactor system process is presented here for the proposed
purpose of nylon 6 6 manufacture at the rate of 85 million lbs per year. The
general design of the plant is a two stage system composed of one initial
CSTR(Control stirring tank reactor) for the formation of nylon salt and low
molecular weight nylon chains, followed by three CSTR’s used for increasing nylon
molecular weight. Further water is removed from the exit stream from reactor
and then is send to three CSTRs for further polymerization.

Basic PFD
Flow diagram
• INITIAL CST REACTOR
The very first step in the manufacturing of nylon-66 is the mixing tank
where HDMA and ADA are mixed along with water for the formation of
nylon salt (Hexamethylenediamnine adipate), which on further undergoes
condensation polymerization through a series of reactors.

•EVAPORATOR / FLASH DRUM:

The evaporator used to remove water from the feed stream and raise its
temperature before it enters the polymerization reactors. The evaporator
chosen for the process is a short tube evaporator because it was the
smallest evaporator that could provide the required heat transfer area.
The evaporator was sized as a shell and tube heat exchanger that is in a
vertical orientation.

Multi-effect evaporator
•REACTORS:
• They are jacketed agitated vessels to ensure proper mixing occurs
during the reaction and to maintain the proper operating temperature.
• In this process a series of three reactors are placed in operation in the
second stage of the process because to convert more and more nylon
salt to naylon-66 and reduce the waste formation and to increase the
efficiency of the overall process.

Complex PFD
• For this process though, utilizing
three parallel reactors is highly
advantageous in that it allows for
the simultaneous production of
nylon product streams with
different molecular weights. The
molecular weight of nylon is a
function of the CSTR residence
time, thus differing weights of
nylon could be produced by
altering the feed rate to each
reactor.
• It allows for access to a larger
product market as well as the
3 CSTR IN PARALLEL
ability to maximize profits.
•DRYER:
The dryer used to remove excess water from the molten nylon and bring
it down to room temperature. The dryer was sized as a rotary, gas fired
dryer because it can be operated continuously and remove the high
moisture content of our product.

•EXTRUDER AND CUTTER:

After drying the molten nylon is sent to the extruder where it is passed
stainless steel Pelletizing Extruder, which forms the nylon into long strips,
which are further cut in an cutter to give the final pellets or chips. This
pellets can be considered as final product according to the requirement of
the manufacturer.

Industrial Nylon pellets

extruder
•MELTING AND SPINNING:
As per the requirement of the company/manufacturer, further the
pellets or chips of nylon-66 are converted into molten form in an high
pressurized melt tank. From this melt tank, the molten nylon-66 is sent for
spinning, where it is converted into filaments.
This filaments further are stretched by drawing process. The filaments
can be stretched to about 2-7 times the original length.

Hence at the end we get the nylon thread which can be further
processed to give desired products.

Nylon spinning mill

Bibliography
1. (5-2017) An industrial process for the production of nylon-66 through the step-growth reaction of
adipic acid and hexamethylenediamine.
David Wallace Jacobson
University of Arkansas Department of chemical engineering
2. Manufacturing of nylon-66
Mia An, Grant Spencer, Laura Beth Stover, Michael Thomma
March 9th, 2017
3. nptel.ac.in/courses/103107082/module8/lecture5/lecture5.pdf

4. scholarworks.uark.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1107&context=cheguht

5. https://nptel.ac.in/courses/103103029/module7/lec40/3.html
Thank You
PARV GANDHI (17BE01018)

PRATIK HEBBAR (17BE01019)

PRUTHVISINH JADAV (17BE01020)

JAYDEEP KHADSELIYA (17BE01021)